New Centre for Research and Practice, New York, respondent, Keith Tilford

Introduction:
When it comes to the relation between theory and practice, we know that art works can fall into the trap of illustrating, instrumentalizing, idealizing, and often oversimplifying theoretical ideas and concepts. These relations, affiliations and citations traverse philosophical ideas and artistic practice. In doing so they cause contradictions and problems regarding how we might conceive of the relation between thought and action, appearance and reality, metaphysics and empiricism and art and philosophy. Consequently, this problem urges us to understand how artistic practice thinks as a discipline, if indeed such a thing is now a valid category, and how art determines thought in form; the site where the operations of reason interacts with the spheres of the sensory and the visible.

‘Art and reason – How Art Thinks’ dials critical and theoretical conversations back to core questions about the status of the image and its capacity for scientific reason. Rather than the artwork as the site of some ineffable mystery we confront the question of the artwork as the place where reason manifests. How does art reason and what is a rationalist art practice?

103 Murray Grove, London, N1 7QP
www.filetfilet.uk
@Filetspace
FILET is a space for experimental art production founded by Rut Blees Luxemburg and Uta Kögelsberger. Based in London, it is a research organ in close proximity to silicon roundabout providing a platform for the creation, dissemination and discourse of emergent strategies in contemporary art.